Jolanda Jones's Controversial Visit to HFD Station No Big Deal, City Investigators Say

The latest brouhaha between city council member Jolanda Jones and the Houston Fire Department -- concerning claims she belittled firefighters while visiting the downtown station -- is overblown and involved no misconduct, the city's Office of Inspector General has ruled.

Union chief Jeff Caynon called for the investigation after, he said, he had heard that Jones had said, "You get all these effing refrigerators and effing stoves and we spend all this money on you. I'm supposed to ask what firefighters do, but I already know -- you sit on recliners and watch TV all day."

A memo from city attorney David Feldman said the OIG had found that the January visit was "jovial" and her remarks were "clearly stated in jest."

It said there had been only one use of profanity during the visit, when Jones was shown (apparently impressive) new ovens and said, "You're fucking kidding me."

In the aftermath of the visit, Caynon -- who has tangled regularly with Jones -- admitted that he was hearing events secondhand, and that some firefighters at the station had thought Jones had simply been kidding.